Michigan State/Loyola Chicago Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

CHICAGO (AP) -- No. 2 Michigan State turned its first road game into a rout, extended the nation's best winning streak to 18 games and drew so many fans that Loyola looked like Breslin Center West.

Yet coach Tom Izzo still wasn't happy with the Spartans' 103-71 victory Saturday over Loyola of Chicago.

"Defensively, there is no comparison to last year's team," he said. "Don't even put us in the same league. Championships are won defensively, and you have to give Loyola a lot of credit to come out and, really, all but beat us in the second half."

Charlie Bell scored 19 points to lead five Spartans in double figures. Michigan State (7-0) held the Ramblers (2-5) to 47 percent shooting, and outrebounded them 41-24.

But the defending national champions had a hard time containing David Bailey, who had 25 points, and Corey Minnifield, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half.

"Once you get up by that many points, you can get a little lazy defensively," Bell said. "We definitely have to get better if we want to be a national championship team."

Unlike last year, when the Spartans took early-season trips to Puerto Rico, North Carolina and Arizona, they stayed home for their first six games this year. The trip to Chicago was their first road game of the year -- though it looked as if they were still in East Lansing with all of the Michigan State fans packed into the Gentile Center.

At least half the crowd of 5,513 -- the first official sellout at the Gentile Center since it opened in 1996 -- was rooting for Michigan State.

And they had to like what they saw in the first half. The Spartans blew the Ramblers away early, opening the game with an 18-2 run. Loyola went without a field goal until 15:49 of the first half, and it was another four minutes before the Ramblers got their second one.

By that time, the Spartans had a 29-6 lead.

Loyola shot just 37 percent in the first half, and Bailey was responsible for 16 of the Ramblers 27 points. The Spartans, meanwhile, were rolling, shooting 70 percent.

"That was the best first half of basketball we've played against anybody," Izzo said. "I thought we did a lot of good things in the first half."

The Ramblers tried to slow Michigan State down, swarming anything in a green uniform, but the Spartans simply brushed them aside. They scored from outside and inside, whether they were wide open or had guys in yellow hanging on them.

Zach Randolph outmuscled two defenders to grab his own miss and then made the rebound goal in heavy traffic. Richardson made a layup as he was slammed, and then converted the three-point play.

"We've got to get more physical," Bailey said. "Those guys are strong!"

But after taking a 56-27 lead at halftime, the Spartans seemed to relax. Loyola started penetrating, making baskets it couldn't in the first half.

Minnifield made 5-of-6 shots in the second half, and went 2-of-4 from the line. The Ramblers shot 57 percent, and the Spartans only outscored them 47-44 in the final 20 minutes.

"We definitely did some things we need to correct if we're going to be a championship team," said Andre Hutson, who had 16 points. "We can't go out and play one half of basketball."

Still, Loyola never cut Michigan State's lead to less than 26 points, and the Spartans had a comfortable cushion of 30 points or more for most of the second half.

With 5:12 left, Izzo started pulling his starters.

"I know there's going to be a little bit of a letdown in the second half," Izzo said. "But hey, 47-44? They did a heck of a job."

ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard

Michigan State Clubhouse

Loyola Chicago Clubhouse